Susan Richards Shreve 1939–

American novelist and short story writer.

Shreve's first novels, A Fortunate Madness and A Woman Like That, introduce her method of examining the psychological development of a female protagonist in terms of personal history and family relationships. Political and cultural trends add a new dimension to her later work. Children of Power, set in Washington during the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy, provides insight into "McCarthyism." Her recent novel, Miracle Play, portrays several generations of an affluent Pennsylvania family. Julian Moynahan places the novel "well above the glut of saga fiction" and describes it as a "slide show on Eastern upperclass American social history, professionally arranged and projected."

(See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 49-52 and Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Vol. 5.)